Lessons in Chinese history as America shuts off from the world

A 1792 painting by artist James Gillray portrays the Macartney Embassy mission to China, when the British ambassador was rebuffed by the emperor after offering western goods. There are parallels in Chinese history to Donald Trump’s isolationism. British Museum/1868,0808.6228, CC BY-NC

Historians report the Chinese emperor said: “There is nothing we lack — we have never set much store on strange or ingenious objects, nor do we want any more of your country’s manufactures,” thus reflecting his insular view.

China down and out for more than a century

China’s demise in the 1800s lasted for more than 100 years. It was not until the 1978 Chinese Communist Party reforms under Deng Xiaoping that China re-emerged, allowing it access to Western markets and technology, thus providing economic growth and prosperity for the Chinese people.

The U.S. has been the world’s largest economy for the past 150 years. As journalist and author Farid Zakaria noted in his 2008 bookThe Post-American World and the Rise of the Rest, it’s now a post-American era, where the U.S. is not falling, but other countries are closing the gap.

But Zakaria’s book was published before the rise of Donald Trump and the insular and protectionist sentiment sweeping America.

Trump rejects access to global economy

The first tangible action of the Trump administration that pushed the U.S. towards an isolationist stance was his rejection of the Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement that would give the U.S. access to an enormous share of the global economy.

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Donald Trump would be wise to heed the lessons of Chinese history as he shuts off the United States from the rest of the world. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Trump’s views that such agreements allow the rest of the world to benefit at the expense of the U.S. is so very wrong — these are not zero sum agreements. His moves to limit immigration are another dimension in his insular and protectionist vision for the U.S.

Reminiscent of China

Closing the U.S. off to the rest of the world is reminiscent of China more than 200 years ago. Of course, the circumstances are very different and it’s a different age. Nevertheless, leading economies of the world must be fully engaged in the global economy, both economically and politically.

It’s time for Trump and his supporters to understand that it is inconsistent to be a global power and protectionist.

The United States must remain open to trade, investment, immigration and the free flow of ideas. It must remain fully engaged in international institutions such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank — being a superpower is about both hard and soft power.

There is a clear contradiction between “make America great again” and closing off from the world. If the U.S. closes itself to the world, its future as a world leader in every way is at significant risk.